When graduate student pitcher Lauren Boyd took the mound for Northwestern’s NCAA Tournament-opening win over Kentucky, it had been nearly two years since she last started a postseason game.
Back then, she played second fiddle to one of the best arms in program history, two-time All-American Danielle Williams. Then came the injury. A lost season. A long rehab.
Now, as the Wildcats’ (30-18-1, 16-6 Big Ten) ace, she’s aiming to cap her career with a deep postseason run. And on Friday, as she blanked Kentucky (29-27, 7-17 SEC) 4-0, she looked ready to do just that.
Knowing her tenure will end if NU loses twice this weekend, Boyd brought her best to the Regional hosted by No. 11 Clemson. In a double-elimination bracket where only one of four teams will advance, she made sure NU jumped out to the start it needed.
After the shutout victory, just two wins stand between coach Kate Drohan’s squad and a return to the Super Regionals.
For the first four innings, defense controlled the game, as neither team conceded a run.
On a day where Boyd struck out four batters, NU gave her the support she needed in the field. Kentucky’s best chance came in the fourth inning, when two consecutive two-out hits put runners in scoring position. But when Kentucky’s Ally Hutchins singled through the left side, sophomore outfielder Isabel Cunnea threw out a baserunner at third to end the frame.
In the game’s postgame press conference, Drohan called that play the “real momentum shift” her team needed as they made it back into the dugout with the top of the order due up.
In the top of the fifth, NU’s lineup came alive. After senior infielder Grace Nieto led off with a single up the middle and junior outfielder Kelsey Nader reached base on an infield hit, junior infielder Kansas Robinson doubled to bring them both home, giving the ’Cats a two-run lead.
“Before that inning, I had felt that we needed a little bit of a energy boost,” Robinson said postgame. “So then when Izzy made that play, it was perfect, it gave me a lot of confidence at the plate.”
NU tacked on two more insurance runs in the sixth inning when freshman infielder Kaylie Avvisato singled to drive in senior outfielder Ayana Lindsey and junior infielder Bridget Donahey.
Considering Boyd tossed 106 pitches in the win, Drohan made no promises about what her pitching rotation will look like throughout the weekend.
“I think Boyd is going to want to be out there as much as she can,” Drohan said. “I think she’s the person who wants her name written on that lineup as often as possible.”
The ’Cats will face the winner of No. 11 Clemson and South Carolina Upstate on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
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